Not Good Enough
by HiroEB
Summary: Sequel to “Regret”. One shot. Comic book based. Lotor has an encounter with the last person he ever expected to see again. Implied yaoi.


Disclaimer: Voltron and all related characters (Lotor, Sven, etc.) are property of WEP. No profit was made from their use.

Recent events were going well for Lotor, Prince of Korrinoth. One could tell by the how his already oversized ego had managed to swell to even greater proportions. If someone had found the air of arrogance that surrounded him insufferable before, now it would suffocate them to death. Then again, if someone was about to accomplish what Lotor was on the verge of doing, it would give the most humble person reason to boast.

In six short months he was poised to destroy everything the reigning ruler of the Drule Supremacy had worked to accomplish. Oh, it was not an easy task by any stretch of the imagination. After barely escaping death and capture several times, he had managed to reach the rulers of kingdoms within the Supremacy whose rulers Lotor knew were deeply dissatisfied with the Emperor's rule. It took all the persuasiveness, charm, and eloquence that came so naturally to Lotor to convince them to rebel against the emperor with him as their leader, but he succeeded. Lotor had been planning this grand bid for power for months, with the first step being his now out of the question marriage to Queen Merla. At first, the elimination of the marriage seemed like a setback, but it soon proved beneficial to his plan. With Merla now being hunted for treason after the failure of her own attempted uprising, the Seventh Kingdom was left leaderless, and thus ripe for the taking. It was a piety the original plan that he and Merla had devised to dominate the Supremacy together had fallen apart, but it didn't matter now. All because of him, the Drule Supremacy had been plunged into a civil war, which he was currently winning.

As for the Galactic Union, due to rampant corruption and traitorous leaders within its system, the once powerful organization was rotting from the inside out. Of course, their Vehicle Voltron and the Supremacy's robeast were still thorns in his side, however they were soon to going to be removed.

Three months ago, Lotor discovered something that was very fortunate for him and very bad for the rest of the galaxy. Actually, the something was a someone, and that someone had contacted him. Arus had its own traitor. Of course, Lotor was initially suspicious when he was first informed that he had received a document highlighting several of the Lions' weaknesses from an anonymous source on planet Arus. However, desperation drove him to act on the information and it had worked like a charm. However, despite that stream of knowledge about the robot's flaws and the strategies of the Voltron Force, they had not destroyed Voltron for good. No, Lotor had better plans for the mechanical warrior.

The prince impatiently looked up at the clock mounted on one of the cold, steel walls of the room he was in. Other than the clock, the only other furnishing contained in the room was he long conference table lined by several chairs on each side. He could have waited in one of the more impressive and comfortable rooms within the fortress, but he was there for strictly business reasons. According to the last message sent by the traitor, the keys had successfully been stolen and were to be handed to him personally at the closest outpost Lotor had to Arus. If the traitor's words were true, Lotor would now have the power of Voltron at his fingertips. His lips twisted into a smug smirk. The trap he had set in order to ensnare the galaxy was snapping shut with even greater speed and ferocity than even Lotor himself ever imagined.

Lotor heard a loud knock on the room's steel door.

"Enter," stated Lotor, his back still facing the door. He had no interest in the traitor himself, as back stabbers were as common as stars during times of war, but only in what he had to give Lotor.

Lotor slowly glanced over his shoulder with a disinterested expression on his face as he heard the door swing open. His eyes did not focus on the three people who entered the room, but on the clock. The last thing he wanted was to give the person a false sense of importance. The prince had learned that once people thought they were viewed as significant, they became annoyingly uninhibited when asking for favors. As far as Lotor was concerned, a chance to make him or herself useful to him was reward enough for anyone.

"Sire, your guest is here to see you," said one of the two guards who had escorted the traitor into the room.

Lotor turned his gaze away from the clock to the person standing between the guards.

"You!" screamed Lotor. Before anyone could react, he spun around, lunged at the man and punched in him the stomach. The force of the blow caused him to double over in pain. As the man fell to knees, the small bundle of brown cloth he was carrying fell out of his arm and unto the floor with a clatter. Lotor glared down at the person, his body shaking, teeth bared, and eyes narrowed. The five glittering keys to the Voltron Lions, which had spilled out the cloth bundle, did not matter now.

"What are you doing here, Sven?! After what you did to me, why are you here?" Lotor demanded. He did not bother asking why Sven had crashed their ship into those robeasts with almost no warning, for in Lotor's mind, there was no suitable excuse for it. Whatever the reason for Sven's behavior, he had no right to almost send him to an early grave, especially when Lotor had saved his life and had begun to give Sven his trust. Lotor viewed his trust has a gift, a privilege to have, and one did not reject a gift from him; it was a slap in the face.

Sven did not answer, but remained kneeling on the floor with his head bowed.

"I suggest that you answer me soon, Sven, or I am afraid that I'll be forced to relieve you of your head."

"I-," Sven answered after a moment's hesitation, a hesitation that angered Lotor. In another burst of fury, Lotor swiftly kicked Sven in the head, knocking him back a few feet. It took a Sven a few moments to recover from the force and suddenness of the blow. Slowly he got back up onto his knees, coughing and panting, blood running from his nose. A contemptuous sneer was etched upon Lotor's handsome facial features.

"How pathetic. Not that I'd expect any less from Merla's former puppet," the prince growled. "When I ask scum like you a question, I expect an immediate response. Now try to answer me again, Sven."

"I want your forgiveness," said Sven, his dark eyes meeting Lotor's intense gaze.

Lotor snorted with disgust. Did Sven really expect he would forgive that easily? Furthermore, did Sven expect Lotor to believe him so easily? Sven, in Lotor's mind, was there to twist the knife he had plunged into Lotor's back six months ago.

Sven had almost killed Lotor in the name of his so-called friends. Now he had suddenly turned his back on them to gain his favor? Lotor could not believe it. He had taken advantage of the respect and fondness that Lotor had begun to develop towards him once, how dare he try to do it again? Sven was lying. He had to be.

"You two," Lotor snapped to the guards, "take those keys and have them analyzed so I know whether or not they're the real thing. I want the analysis no later than a half hour from now, no excuses."

Lotor was not going to be the target of a sloppily plotted assassination attempt or a double cross. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck bristle. Did the Voltron Force really think he would just trust Sven without question? If they did, he was insulted that they thought him that stupid. And Sven must have known the risk of such a mission. The human had to know his chances of success were slim and that he'd likely die. Why was Sven so willing to die to for the Voltron Force? Lotor's scowl deepened. It was he that had saved his life. It was he that had fought was him when Sven was supposedly so alone, disenfranchised and misunderstood. Why wasn't Sven ever willing to die for him? The thought both stung and angered Lotor.

"Yes, Sire," both guards said in unison. The guard on the right of Sven bent over and scooped up the keys in his large, armored hand. Without another word, the guards left the room, the heavy door slamming shut with the cold clanking of steel. Lotor knelt down on the floor before Sven and grabbed his hair in a vice grip, forcing him to look into his eyes.

"This room could soon be your tomb if you don't answer my questions to my satisfaction."

Despite the Lotor's threat, Sven's blank expression did not change.

"Now, why is my forgiveness so important to you that you would crawl back to me despite the good chance I might kill you? And why would you would supposedly betray the friends that you betrayed me for, hmm?" hissed Lotor. He tightened his grip on Sven's hair, causing the human to wince. "Is this is a scheme against me thought up by you and your friends like I think it is, or are you just not very loyal? Maybe you just want to be on the side that's winning."

There was a brief silence before either spoke.

"I'll spare you the excuses for my behavior on the ship and get to the point," began Sven. "I wanted to change. When I joined you, Haggar, and Merla, Merla was controlling me."

Lotor smirked with grim satisfaction. "I told you that you were her puppet."

Sven frowned slightly, but continued: "I was being forced down a road I did not want to go down, but Allura convinced me that it did not have to be that way, so I tried to let them change me. But to make a long story short, I found out what I always suspected: that I did not belong with Allura, Keith, or even Romelle, and their high morals. I've always looked out for myself first, so I couldn't conform to their self sacrificing ideals despite how hard they tried to make me. They knew it, and though they did not show it, I knew I was a disappointment to them."

"Oh spare me your sob story!" Lotor snapped, sounding more annoyed than angry. "When you try to lie to me, can you at least try to sound a little less contrived? After everything you did to me, at least you could have put some effort into it."

Suddenly the door opened once again; the guards had returned.

"Well, are they real?" asked Lotor, not taking his eyes off Sven.

"Yes they are, my lord," replied the guard on the left.

Lotor's eyes widened at the news, his furious expression suddenly gone. He looked back at Sven, baffled, still not believing that the human possibly told the truth. So, what if Sven did not feel that he belonged with friends, but with him instead? Lotor was not sure whether to find the idea pathetic in its sappiness or flattering. He decided it was both. The human had thoroughly betrayed friends just for his forgiveness, or so the man claimed, meaning that Lotor was more important to him than them. He appealed to the part darker part of Sven, the shadowy selfish side that they both shared. If that was true, Lotor admitted to himself that his ego loved that thought. But Lotor was not ready to forgive. Not right now, probably not in the future, maybe never.

The prince silently gestured for the guards to leave the room once more, an order which they quickly obeyed.

"It seems you were telling the truth," said Lotor releasing his grip on Sven's hair. "So all you want is my forgiveness? I hardly believe that."

"I want to you spare my friends. They will not be a threat to you without Voltron," Sven answered without hesitation.

Loathsome little worm. That was certainly a bold request, and it was not the answer he wanted, but Lotor did not have plans to kill the Voltron Force anyway. He had planned on sparing Allura anyway and making the rest of them toil in the slave pits for the rest of their miserable lives. So he would technically be granting Sven's request. The man didn't deserve much better.

"Fine then. But I have to wonder why it took you so long to realize that you belonged with me. You claimed that your friends didn't understand you; you said that you had no home. But I saved you, I fought beside you, and even respected you. I deserved your loyalty first and foremost, not them."

"I know," Sven answered, his expression blank and his voice emotionless.

Lotor sighed. Slowly he stood up and turned his back to Sven.

"Since you handed the tools of victory over to me, I'll let you live. You're free to serve me as much as you want, as a solider or a slave, I don't care. You don't deserve my forgiveness, Sven, and you really don't deserve anything more than what I'm giving you," Lotor said, walking towards the door. "Though you could have easily been more to me, if you didn't insist on almost killing me. Remember that."

Not sparing Sven another glance, Lotor exited the room. The door slammed shut with a load clang that echoed through the empty room.


End file.
